Climate Risk Index

Why in News?

According to a climate risk index report, India was the 6^th most affected by extreme weather events over the last 3 decades from 1993 to 2023.

• Published since – 2006.
• Published by – German watch, a non-profit organization.
• Climate Risk Index – It is one of the longest running annual climate impact-related indices.
• It uses the data from:
  • Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) international disaster database.
  • World Bank.
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Methodology – It analyses climate-related extreme weather events’ impacts via 3 hazard categories:
  1. Hydrological
  2. Meteorological
  3. Climatological
• It visualizes such events’ degree of effect at 2 years before the index’s publication and over the preceding 30 years.
• 6 key indicators – Economic loss, fatalities, and affected people with each in absolute and relative terms.

• Ranking – It is based on the countries economic and human impacts (fatalities as well as affected, injured, and homeless).
• Countries most affected in last 3 decades (1993-2022) – The top 10 countries that are most affected are Dominica, China, and Honduras were the most affected countries followed by Myanmar, Italy and India (6^th most affected).

• India – It ranks 6^th among the top 10 countries which shows high absolute fatalities and economic losses.
• India has faced a variety of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, including floods, heat waves, cyclones, and drought.

More than 400 extreme weather events in the 3 decades, causing losses of nearly USD 180 billion (inflation-adjusted) and at least 80,000 fatalities.

• Floods and landslides resulting from heavy monsoons displaced millions and damaged agriculture.
• Cyclones devastated coastal areas, underscoring India's diverse cli- mate risks.

References

1. Down to Earth| India among Top 10 Countries
2. Germanwatch| Climate Risk Index 2025
3. Germanwatch Pdf| Countries Most Affected in Last 3 Decades